Most organizations will take the last quarter of 2023 to develop a Strategic Plan for 2024 and beyond that will focus on growing revenue and profits. From our firsthand experiences, companies fail to execute their Strategic Plan, because they do not integrate their Strategic Planning into a process that weaves daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly activities with strategic action. The process must focus their employees on the key tasks that move the company forward. Companies need to treat their Strategic Plan as a “process” that is dynamic and not a static “event”. Once the Strategic Plan is developed, it’s the beginning of an organizational journey that should inspire, motivate and drive alignment. Creating actions towards operational excellence.

To transform your Strategic Plan into a “process” companies need to build their Strategic Planning process around the continuous improvement process of “plan, do, check, act”. As you implement this continuous process, you are updating the plan on what is working and making the necessary adjustments for internal and external constraints. A lacking of understanding the constraints could derail the success of your strategic plan. It starts with sharing with all employees the top priorities required to move the Strategic Plan forward. Breaking these priorities into department and individual priorities that can be woven into the daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly fabric of the organization ensures success.

Once the priorities are set, the next step is establishing the metrics or measurements that will determine if the priorities are moving in the right directions. Visual Scoreboards should be built for all key organizational and department priorities. By displaying the metrics on the Visual Scoreboard, it will keep focus on these priorities.

The last step in transforming a Strategic Plan into a “process” is to develop the right meeting rhythm to keep the organization focused on the organization priorities. Organization need to establish meeting rhythms that set aside a structured time daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly that allows individuals and teams to focus on the priorities required to move the Strategic Plan.

The daily meeting should be very short, less than fifteen minutes that allow individuals and teams to share relevant information and ask for help outside of the meeting to move the company forward. The weekly meeting is thirty minutes to an hour meeting to discuss progress on timelines for quarterly priorities and identify constraints that need to be addressed. The monthly meeting is one to two-hour long meeting to review key metrics to the plan and discussing the quarterly priorities to ensure they are on track. The quarterly meeting is a four to eight-hour leadership meeting that the leadership teams review the company performance against the plan and establish the new quarterly key priorities against the key initiatives to meet that yearly.

Now, it’s your turn to evaluate if your Strategic Plan is going to be “event” or a “process” that moves your organization forward in 2024. Start by asking yourself these questions. Did all your employees know the top 3 to 5 key priorities that your organization needed to achieve to make your 2023 successful year? Were the priorities broken down into team priorities that had visual scoreboards, so everyone was aligned and knew the progress of your organization priorities? Did your organization structure the meeting rhythms that allowed employees to focus on your priorities in your plan in 2023?

Mid-Size Business owners most frequently share that the Lack of the Right Talent is the main reason that they fail to scale their business, or that their growth stalls and they don’t achieve results beyond their original goals.  The Talent that has brought them this far is only capable of achieving a certain level of growth, and does not have the knowledge, skills, or leadership attributes to continue to scale beyond that.  In Good to Great, Jim Collins pointed out that businesses must first acquire the right  talent before they can successfully scale their business. Vern Harnish in Scaling Upidentifies “the valley of death” for businesses, which are the growth plateaus that cause them to stall, slow, or worst yet, decline until the business figures out a new strategy and finds the related talent.

Acquiring the right talent is one of the most important responsibilities of senior leadership in a business.  Working with TalentTelligent’s research-based solutions, Accerion Partners has cracked the code and can help you identify, hire and develop the right talent so you can scale your mid-size business.

Beginning with identifying the mission critical roles that will enable your strategic success, Accerion Partners can then help you pinpoint the essential skills, knowledge, and attributes that are differentiators.  Based on these key differentiators, we can help you develop a practical set of talent processes that will help you develop the people that you have, and help you find the talent that you now need to catalyze the next level of growth for your business.

To learn more about Accerion Partners and how we can help your business hire and develop the right talent to scale your business, request our white paper:  “The Top Three Reasons Why Mid-Market Business Owners are Stuck with Undervalued Businesses.”

At Accerion Partners, our experience has shown that one of the main inhibitors in scaling success is often the skill and capability limits of your current leadership team.  Therefore, we are very pleased to announce our continued partnership with TalentTelligent, LLC that allows us to now deliver Strategic Leadership and Talent Development Services.

With this partnership, our goal at Accerion Partners is to leverage TalentTelligent’s approach and processes to help you bridge the talent gaps that prevent or slow the achievement of your strategy and your scaling goals.

TalentTelligent has identified the unique Roles that define the work required to be successful at three levels:  Individual Contributors, Supervisors/Managers, and Executive Leaders.  Understanding the Roles that are most critical to support your strategy allows us to then create development plans that are based on the specific Practices and Behaviors needed to perform these Roles.  These plans can be made specific and actionable, with clear desired outcomes, which increases accountability and makes behavioral change and learning concrete and possible.

In addition, TalentTelligent’s materials help us to help you to identify and develop Potential.  Knowing who has the highest potential on your team allows you to develop strong succession plans.  And because research shows us we can develop potential, we can also help you increase the capability of your current team to support your Scaling plans.

People Processes that Accerion Partners can now support include: 

·      Identification, Selection/ Interviewing, and Development of Individuals at all Levels

·      Identification of Leadership Potential

·      Team Development

·      Succession Planning

Our goal is to deliver best-in-class development strategies and processes that help our clients ensure they have the leadership talent they need for today and for the future.  This new partnership will enable Accerion Partners to use research-based tools as the foundation for the delivery of our Strategic Leadership and Talent Development Services. 

To learn more about Accerion Partners: https://www.accerionpartners.com

To learn more about TalentTelligent:  https://www.talenttelligent.com

The single most essential execution habit all companies must master is having an effective daily meeting rhythm. This meeting, called the daily huddle, is for all associates, especially the leadership team.

Before dismissing this idea, consider that for top teams like Goldman Sachs, Apple, Zappos, Facebook, Ford Motor, and Microsoft, an effective daily meeting rhythm is at the heart of their management execution practices. It is the “adrenaline meeting” that makes the company’s pulse run faster.

The daily huddle meeting rhythm is extremely important when you are facing challenging times.  Huddles provide associates with clarity on the path forward. With a daily huddle, companies are better prepared to keep associates’ daily tasks aligned with strategic plans.

To execute an effective daily huddle, you need to keep them short -- 15 minutes or less,  have a set agenda, and have team members come prepared. The structure and the time of the meeting should be the same every day. Each team member should come prepared to address three key agenda items in their area of responsibility:

·      A quick status of what is going on.  Associates should highlight conflicts across agendas, and opportunities that the team should be made aware of to better coordinate the company’s plan going forward.

·      A review of the daily measurements. These are the projects or KPI’s that the associates are accountable for tracking.

·      Activities where the associate is stuck. This is the most important agenda item to communicate succinctly . The team is looking for bottlenecks that will lead to constraints in achieving the company plan. Don’t plan on resolving these bottlenecks as part of the daily huddle meeting. The team should schedule side meetings with the necessary associates to resolve the bottlenecks.  The side meetings should be scheduled before the huddle ends.

These short, fast-paced daily “adrenaline meetings” are a necessary “to do” to keep your company on track.  These meetings bring alignment, clarity, and the daily energy needed to keep the organization moving towards your company’s goals. 

For more information on how you can reignite your company in 2020, visit our website at www.accerionpartners.com  or contact us at info@accerionpartners.com to leverage our assessment tools to unlock your hidden potential and increase your business’ value.

As we enter 2021, challenges to running your business will continue, and the head winds remain strong.  It will be important to use a strategic planning process that helps to reimagine the markets your company can serve as a way to drive new revenue growth.

To help our clients weather the storm in 2020, Accerion Partners guided them through a five-step strategic planning process. As a result, many are entering 2021 in a strong growth mode.   These clients have repositioned their revenue streams, and are capitalizing on changes in market dynamics.  Companies that have a strong and agile strategic planning processes can adapt quickly and reimagine themselves.   They can not only survive in turbulent times, but can actually thrive.

Accerion Partners offers a five-step strategic planning process, built upon the original principles of Vern Harnish.  The Harnish Scaling Up model has been used successfully by thousands of companies worldwide.  Given the emerging and changing needs of businesses today, Accerion Partners has updated and added tools to develop a solid market analysis, which leads clients to achieve predictable revenue growth by focusing on their “ Market Highly Achievable Goals (MHAG.)”

Strategic Planning is made more relevant and impactful by incorporating our proprietary MHAG process, and you can significantly increase the predictability of hitting forecasted revenue targets.  We developed MHAG based on decades of experience in leading several high growth organizations to exponential revenue growth.

Using the Accerion Partners “MHAG” process as part of your strategic planning process will help you generate the rocket fuel you need to grow your company in 2021 and beyond. 

For more information the Accerion Partners MHAG process, contact at 616-377-4567 or Email: info@accerionpartners.com

Our client Innovare, one of Michigan’s Premier office furniture dealers and office product developer, has created a unique product that allows firms to get their teams back in the office quickly and safely. Using Accerion Partners proprietary  Market Highly Achievable Goal (MHAG) Process, Innovare has focused on the critical market needs that truly make a difference for their clients.

Innovide: Innovation by Innovare is a powerful solution that reinforces existing station dividers to better provide workspace solutions with increasing partition heights and decreasing gaps, giving employees workspaces that are safer and more comfortable. Innovide enables organizations to create a safe work environment while maintaining their design aesthetic.

Our Client, Innovare has developed multiple solutions to support every organization’s most valuable asset - its employees. 

The ability to adapt your environment and increase flexibility will allow your businesses to provide solutions to protect your employees as you bring them back into the workplace. Whether your team needs more privacy, sound reduction, or protection from the spread of illness in the workplace.

We see many organizations facing the challenge of protecting their past office configuration investment. In recent years, many organizations adopted an open-concept work environment that included low partitions for workspace separation. This design was ideal for encouraging collaboration but created potential issues with privacy and sound disruption. With new concerns about the spread of airborne illnesses, the need for higher partitions is crucial.  How do you quickly respond?

INNOVARE HAS DEVELOPED THE ANSWER THROUGH DESIGN-DRIVEN ADAPTABILITY.

·      Customizable to fit your workspace's existing partition styles and sizing

·      The Innovide Bracket is available in a variety of finishes to match your current color scheme

·      Manufactured with easy-to-sanitize materials

·      Effortless installation and de-installation

·      No-harm adapter attached to existing partitions and dividers

·      Modifies open-space designs that are prevalent in today's workplace

·      Higher dividers can promote better focus as well as improve health and safety

·      Fabric panels offer sound-masking to minimize distractions

·      Enhance privacy

·      The polycarbonate barrier shield is considered more resistant than acrylic to damage from chemicals used for frequent cleaning

To learn more about Innovare call: 517-253-8718 or click on the link: https://myinnovare.com/contact/

To learn more about our Accerion Partners Market Highly Achievable Goal (MHAG) process call us at 616.377.4567 or email:info@accerionpartners.com

Cash flow will be the defining economic issue in 2020 for businesses.

Cash flow will be the defining economic issue in 2020 for businesses. 

Companies large and small are scrambling to prepare for a cash crunch that is the result of weeks of economic restraints put in place in an attempt to limit the impact of the COVID-19 virus. During these challenging times, understanding your cash flow and the key indicators that affect your cash will be critical for your business to survive. 

The foundational information you need to successfully manage cash during a crisis can be summed up in seven critical levers that you and your team must know and track to be able to manage as proactively as possible. 

·      Revenue increase or decrease %

·      Gross Margin increase or decrease %

·      Net Profit increase or decrease %

·      Accounts Receivable increase or decrease in days

·      Inventory increase or decrease in days

·      Accounts Payable increase or decrease in days

By creating multiple “what if” scenarios that focus your attention on these seven levers, you will be able to manage your cash flow and put yourself in the best position to survive the turbulent times of today.

To help businesses during the Covid-19 crisis, Accerion Partners is offering at no charge a “Cash Flow Stress Test.”  This simulation allows your team to model and analyze Best-Case and  Worst-Case Scenarios that will help you create a definitive plan of action.

To learn more about our “Cash Flow Stress Test,” and other ways we can help you persevere cash,  contact us at: info@accerionpartners.com or at 616.377.4567. Look for us on the web at www.accerionpartners.com

As we begin the work week, the new reality of the coronavirus has begun to significantly affect our daily lives in the United States. Here are some thoughts on how to prepare your company right now, as well as to position your company to exit the pandemic, perhaps even in a stronger position.

• Do not skip holding daily team meetings. Think about holding these meetings virtually to keep all employees updated and informed. This is the most important way for your organization to get the daily, real-time employee and customer feedback needed to keep the organization focused on the critical tasks at hand. 
• Make real-time adjustments to your strategic plan. Bring your leadership team together to review your strategic plan and discuss the adjustments you might need to make to your plan. It is critical that discussion in this meeting be open and honest.  You should have a contingency plan for the best and worst-case scenarios. Use this meeting to decide, as a team, on the next steps of action. Commit to reviewing your plan weekly. 
• Know your cash burn rate and understand your monthly cash flow. Cash is king and it is a must to know your monthly cash flow. Contact us if you want help in projecting your cash flow. We have proprietary software that can help you do this.
• Look for new opportunities to deliver value.  Have your leadership team prepare a list of  opportunities that might exist to help your customers navigate in this dynamic environment. Although the coronavirus will definitely cause some hardships, you can also focus on identifying the opportunities that could make your company more valuable over time to your customer base.
• Follow the CDC recommendations for social distancing and good hygiene. CDC is the best public  source for updates. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2Findex.html 

Accerion Partners is here to assist you in continuing to grow and scale your company, even in times of challenge and hardship. To learn how to access our services on our virtual delivery platform contact us at 616-377-4567 or via email: info@accerionpartners.com .

In 2015, with years of experience as an EMT Paramedic and also working as a full time RN in a busy Level 1 Trauma center, Wes Brubaker used trauma shears every day. These little tools are absolutely essential and carried by nearly every EMT and ER nurse. For a critically ill or injured patient, their clothing can stand in the way of providing life-saving care. Trauma shears are designed to quickly cut through that clothing without causing injury to the patient.  But Wes noticed a trend. Nearly every trauma shear product on the market was constructed of thin, stamped material with a simple rivet holding the two blades together. This configuration provided a cheap product that worked well for a few weeks, but quickly became dull, loose, and ineffective. Essentially, these shears were disposable and underperformed for much of their life. 

Convinced that there had to be a better option, Wes started working with Vince Haley, who had years of design experience.  Together they drew, prototyped and constructed a product that outperformed conventional shears in every way. Working with an experienced scissors manufacturer in Taiwan, Wes and Vince developed the product and then brought it to production. After additional testing and refinement, these new shears met their objective of creating a trauma shear with vastly superior cutting ability and long life.

By late 2018, XSHEAR had experienced two years of steady growth since the initial launch. Wes knew that there was even greater potential in the product and business, and he realized they needed more structure and expertise in business development and planning. Craig Janusz of Accerion Partners began working with XSHEAR as a coach and business consultant, supporting Wes by helping him develop a Focused Strategic Plan that utilized the Scaling Up Process as developed by Verne Harnish, “The Growth Guy”. The resulting Strategic Plan clearly outlined XSHEAR’s purpose, mission, 3-5 year goals and 2019 goals, and Wes was able to integrate that plan into his daily operations.

As a result, 2019 has been XSHEAR’s most successful year yet. XSHEAR has consistently exceeded its growth targets and expanded into new markets. They have launched products on Amazon in the UK and are collaborating with distributors to offer XSHEAR extensively across Europe.  In early 2019 they added an additional accessory: a tactical holster. This innovative product is designed to secure the XSHEAR to the user and is made in the USA.  

Working together with Accerion Partners, and utilizing the Accerion Partner proprietary MHAG process, XSHEAR saw an additional business opportunity to sell the XSHEAR tool to the recreational marine industry as the high quality shears also meet a need of boaters and sailors. This new marine product has already been officially packaged and initially launched, with a full rollout planned for Spring of 2020. 

XSHEAR continues to utilize the coaching and structured processes of Accerion Partners, and anticipates another high growth year in 2020, with realistic goals of increasing both revenue and profits.

For more information about XSHEAR: Website About us: https://xshear.com/pages/about-us

For more information about Accerion Partners: https://www.accerionpartners.com/

Four Key Decisions

People, Strategy, Execution, Cash

As we enter the second half of 2019 many companies have experienced growth and improved profits this year. I hope you have had success this year and are preparing to finish 2019 strong. Businesses continue to be the catalyst for a growing economy despite gridlock and a disfunction government.

To continue growth in 2019, business leaders must remain flexible, nimble be an agent of change as business dynamics continue to evolve in 2019. Here are some thoughts to help you to lead your business in the 2nd half of 2109.

Decisions and Success

Business must focus on four key decisions in growing their business and must get these decisions right or leave significant revenue, profits and resources on the table. The four decisions are in People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. Every business face continues challenges in all four areas, at any one time, yet businesses must prioritize which arears overshadow the rest going into the 2nd half of 2019 to continue to grow revenue and profitability. Therefore, the business leader first decision is to chose which one of these four areas they need to focus in the 2nd half of 2019.

People Decisions

If you are not enjoying running your company or having drama that cause execution issues, you know you have People challenges. You might have a partner issue, a customer relationship that dominates your resources, trouble with a key employee, teams that are dysfunctional that disrupt the business effectiveness or trouble finding key employees to serve your customers.

Prioritizing and solving these relationship issues should be your top priority in the 2nd half of 2109 or they will continue to consume a tremendous amount of your time, energy and make it difficult to lead your organization. Focus on the getting the right people in the right position with clear accountabilities and you will be on your way to freeing up your energy to grow your business in the 2nd half of 2109.

Strategy Decisions

Slow, erratic, unpredictable top line revenue growth is an indicator that your business faces a strategy challenge. Your strategy needs to be articulated so that everyone is aligned on the same page, without wasting sales and operational energy chasing activities that are not useful to the business.

You need to articulate your company strategy that define what you are the best at in the world that drive value for your customers. Your market niche must be large enough to reach your revenue goals and you should be deeply passionate about serving your market niche. This is unique selling proposition (USP) that differentiates you from your competitors. You know you nail it when revenue grows as rapidly as you predictable wanted.

Execution Decisions

Execution challenges occur when your profits do not grow exponentially as your revenue grow. Too often business grow without developing the effective habits and discipline needed to develop organization structure, communication and processes to convert increment revenue into exponential profit growth.

By steeping back from the business and focusing on the business execution discipline and habits needed to be improved, you can dramatically improve gross margins, profits, eliminate organization drama and improve employee morale.

Cash Decisions

The last challenges every company will face is finding enough cash to grow their business. It is a simple fact that growth “sucks cash”. What separate successful business is they understanding of cash flow and the importance of managing this resource. Cash is the oxygen that drives your business engine. With it, you can continue to scale your business, without you will stall and die.

Businesses should have a rolling 12-month cash flow projection to accurately project they future cash flow position. Business need to actively pursue cash flow strategies that strength they cash flow position or face the real possibility to stall or die because of a lack of cash as they company grow.

Your Decision

Now it’s your time to decide. Which of the four key decisions does your company need to focus on in the 2nd half of 2109 to continue to grow revenue and profits? Companies that have the right focus going into 2nd half of 2109 will continue to grow and prosper.

If you would like a free organization assessment based upon the four key decisions that all companies must get right, click the following link http://bit.ly/ScaleUpQA-APS or contact us directly at Info@Accerionpartners.com or at 616-377-4567